[ad_1]
Hundreds of schoolchildren have been abducted again in Nigeria.
9:56 PM, February 26, 2021
317 girls Jangebe Girls’ Government Science High School kidnapped by “armed bandits” a police spokesman said Friday. Zamfara State Police launched a search and rescue operation together with the army, which, according to eyewitnesses, was also joined by parents and residents of Jangebe.
The attackers broke into bedrooms
The attackers allegedly attacked the boarding school in northwestern Nigeria on Friday night and broke into the dormitories. About 50 schoolgirls managed to escape. Her angry parents refused to leave her for police questioning and devastated the school. “They became violent and broke doors and windows. We had no choice but to let them go,” said one teacher.
The situation in Jangebe was tense after the fact: angry villagers attacked a convoy of vehicles with journalists, security forces and officials who arrived in the village after the kidnapping. “Villagers threw stones at our vehicles,” said Umar Shehu, a reporter for the Daily Trust newspaper. “We were forced to retreat quickly.” A video journalist was injured by a stone on the head.
Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari it condemned the kidnapping as “inhuman and totally unacceptable”. “This government will not allow itself to be blackmailed by bandits who target innocent students for expecting high ransom payments,” he said.
UN Secretary General António Guterres fordered the immediate release of the students. “Schools must remain a safe space where people can learn without fear of violence,” said its spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
The incident is already the Third attack on a school in Nigeria in three months. In mid-February, 42 people were abducted from a boarding school in neighboring Niger state, including 27 schoolchildren. It has not been released to this day. According to the authorities, negotiations with the kidnappers are continuing. In December, more than 300 children from a school in Kankara, Katsina state, were abducted. They were later released.
For years, attacks by criminal gangs have been on the rise in northwestern and central Nigeria. The gangs, known as “bandits” in Nigeria, kidnap people and are responsible for looting and rape.
Kidnappings for economic reasons
The gangs operate primarily for economic reasons and have no known ideological orientations. However, there is growing concern that they may cooperate with jihadists from the northeast. They have been fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state for years.
The aid organization Save the Children also condemned the repeated attacks on schools as “unacceptable”. “Schools should not be places of fear, they should be safe places of learning where children can play, learn, develop and live to their full potential,” said Mercy Gichuhi, Save the Children’s Country Director in Nigeria.
